ManicDDaily

General George McClellan

For all the talk about Lincoln keeping General George McClellan in his post as head of the Union Army despite his abuses and insubordination (at least until Lincoln finally replaced him with Grant), I don’t think Obama had any choice but to get rid of McChrystal.

It’s probably true that virtually all military top brass disdain their civilian superiors.  It’s probably also true that virtually all military low brass, or below brass, disdain their military superiors.   As the immortal Terry Pratchett writes of Sergeant Colon in Discworld: “-[t]he sane core of Colon was wondering if the purpose of officers wasn’t to stand between the sergeants and all this sh—this slush[i.e. paperwork], so that they could get on with sergeanting.”

When the shoe steps, floorboards squeak.  But McChrystal was a general who’d expressed his disdain just too many times, too publicly, too acidly.

Frankly , it seems to me that anyone who prides himself—or at least lets people know—that he only sleeps four hours and eats only one meal every day he seems custom-made for “disdain”.  McChrystal, however,  having problems connecting with his soldiers as well as his superiors, is not in a position to afford such disdain.

Even if McChrystal were more successful, his actions seem calculated to make it impossible for O’s team to continue to work with him with any kind of trust and confidence.  His presence would reflect a serious and continuing lapse in Obama’s authority.  (I feel somehow certain that people like Karzai, while pleading for McChrystal, would also not respect Obama for keeping him.)

The timing was especially unfortunate.  How could Obama let McChrystal stay, when, in the face of accusations of ineffectiveness, he has just proclaimed his ability to kick a–.  (He can’t get rid of  the leaking well, but he can damn well get rid of the leaking general.)

The whole situation  is just too bad for all concerned.